Alcohol Help

Binge drinkers arrested for alcohol-related offences in four areas across the country may be compelled by police to face up to the consequences of their drinking after they have been arrested, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced today.

The Home Office has provided £330,000 of funding to Drug and Alcohol Action Teams in Ealing, Manchester, Liverpool and Cheshire to pilot Alcohol Arrest Referral Projects (AARP) until March next year. In Liverpool, offenders will be required to pay £30 each towards the cost of the counselling which will be ploughed back into the scheme. If they prove successful, further funding will be available until October 2008.

A typical alcohol referral process might involve the following:

• An adult has been binge drinking and commits criminal damage. They are arrested and taken into custody.
• Police in the custody suite judge that alcohol played a part in the fact that the person committed the offence, and that they might benefit from advice about safer drinking.
• A resident alcohol specialist gives the person advice about unit strengths, the effects of alcohol on the body, and strategies for reducing the risk of offending – and they could be made to pay towards taking responsibility for their actions.
• Those with more complex alcohol misuse problems, and who are given a conditional caution, can be referred to more in-depth advice sessions. If they do not attend these advice sessions, they can be prosecuted for the original offence.

Where similar schemes have operated in Gloucestershire and Dudley, police have reported significant reductions in re-offending. In the former, re-offending among offenders who had attended two advice sessions approximately halved after twelve months.

These four pilots will build on that work and provide an opportunity to collect detailed evidence about how these interventions combat alcohol-related crime and disorder. At the same time they will help to establish a blueprint of best practice for others to follow.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

“We are determined to break the link between drunkenness and anti-social behaviour. People need to face up to the damage that excessive drinking can do to themselves and those around them. These pilots will complement powers already available to the police to tackle alcohol related disorder, including on-the-spot fines, confiscating alcohol in public places and closing down premises that flout the law. I look forward to seeing the first assessments of the projects in spring next year.”

Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern Srabani Sen said:

“The Arrest Referral Pilots represent a real move forward in achieving the Government’s commitment to tackling alcohol fuelled violent crime. It is not enough to just punish those who commit such crimes. We need actively to work with people to change the drinking patterns that lead to trouble.

“Providing people with active, personalised advice about their drinking promises good results in breaking the link between alcohol and violent crime. We applaud the Government for this initiative.”

Association of Chief Police Officers lead on alcohol Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said:

“We hope that giving advice about safer drinking to those arrested for different types of alcohol-related offences will help to reduce crime in the areas taking part in these pilots. Changing attitudes and encouraging sensible drinking, alongside effective enforcement action, should help to tackle the root cause of crime associated with the night-time economy.”

Performance Director of Gloucestershire Drug and Alcohol Service Brian Lawson, who pioneered the concept of alcohol arrest referral, said:

“I know that referral schemes can deliver substantial reductions in re-offending among those who have been arrested for alcohol related offences. The alcohol referral pilots should reduce re-offending in participating areas, as well as identifying best-practice for the benefit of all alcohol referral schemes.”

The Home Office